It is no secret that financial woes bring with them a lot of stress, but scientist have found that this stress can manifest as physical pain.

In other words, your money troubles are, literally, hurting you.

The origin of this idea came when researchers noticed that in times of widespread economic security, people seemed to complain of physical pain more often. At the time, they hypothesised that there might be a link.

To test his, a team at the University of Virginia conducted six different experiments in which they compared economic security with money spent on painkillers.

They found the unemployed spent roughly 20 per cent more than economically secure individuals did. Another study had 187 economically-insecure individuals think back to a period of financial hardship and then one of financial stability.

In times of financial instability, people report more physical pain (Picture: Getty Images)

Individuals reported almost double the level of pain during the unstable periods.

What was probably the most conclusive of the six experiments was one in which participants placed their hands in ice water and picture unstable and stable job markets for their future. Those thinking of stability could endure the ice water for longer.

‘Overall, our findings reveal that it physically hurts to be economically insecure,’ said lead researcher Eileen Chou.

‘By showing that physical pain has roots in economic insecurity and feelings of lack of control, the current findings offer hope for short-circuiting the downward spiral initiated by economic insecurity and producing a new, positive cycle of well-being and pain-free experience.’